Over the Top
by julesmonster
Summary: It's been a few months since the events of At the Door an we get a glimpse of how life with LJ Tony and Gil is going. Established Gibbs/DiNozzo slash.


**Over the Top**

**By Julesmonster**

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **This is just a short interlude in the lives of Tony, LJ and Gil. Hope you enjoy. Jules

**GDGDGDGDGD**

Tony picked up the many toys that mysteriously seemed to take over the living room on a daily basis. It had been four and a half months since he had found Gil on his doorstep and had moved in with Gibbs. Four months of long hours on cases and happy evening spent as a family. He had never been happier in his life, but at the same time, there was something that had been nagging at him for the longest time. Something that he was sure could make everything even better.

They hadn't told anyone of their relationship, though the people at NCIS knew that Tony had moved in with Gibbs to make things easier with Gil. Most thought it was a temporary move until Tony got his life settled. And Tony and Gibbs let them believe that. After six months, however, they were starting to get suspicious. At least those on their team were getting suspicious. Abby had started making little comments, trying to get Tony to open up to her about their living arrangements. Tim was giving them looks every time they arrived to work together or left together. Ducky gave them both his annoyingly knowing smiles.

Tony rather thought it wouldn't be long until one or all of them cornered them and forced a discussion on the subject. Tony just wished he knew how Gibbs wanted to handle it when it happened. Unfortunately, Gibbs was no more communicative now than he had been before they moved in together.

Tony wasn't unsure of his place in Gibbs' life. LJ had given him more than enough proof that he loved him and wanted him around, though not usually with actual words. The fact that Gibbs had insisted that they clean out Kelly's old room together—sorting through toys and clothes that had remained untouched in more than a decade side by side—so that Gil could have her room said more about Tony and Gil's place in his life than any words could have. At the same time, Tony wasn't sure how much Gibbs wanted others to know about them.

Gibbs, as a rule, did not share personal information even with his closest friends. Tony had never known that Gibbs had been in several short-term relationships with men before he and Gibbs had been together for almost six months. They hadn't talked about their relationship at all for the first year they were together. It wasn't until Gil came along and Tony talked about finding a larger apartment that Gibbs had insisted that Tony move in with him, saying that it was an inevitability that they would end up here. It hadn't been all that obvious to Tony, but he was glad that he had agreed. Living with Gibbs was sometimes frustrating, but he'd rather be here than anywhere else in the world.

"How one little boy can create such havoc in just an hour is beyond me," Gibbs said as he entered the living room and found Tony still picking up. "He must take after his daddy."

"I wouldn't know," Tony shrugged. "My parents were never around and the nannies changed so often that I never got to hear any stories about when I was that age. Did Gil go down okay?"

"He was out before I even turned on the musical night light." Gibbs helped Tony pick up the remaining toys and then pulled his lover over to the sofa. "We should talk about what we're going to tell the team."

Tony smiled ruefully at Gibbs. "So you _have _noticed the looks and pointed questions."

"I noticed," Gibbs said. "Though they seem to like targeting you more than me."

"I'm the nice one," Tony said. "They know I won't bite their heads off for asking, even if I don't answer the questions."

"We'll need to answer them soon," Gibbs said. "I don't think we need to address the issue outside of our team, but they need to know we trust them."

"So, how so you want to do it?" Tony asked. "We could tell them at Gil's party."

"Sounds like a good idea," Gibbs said. He kissed Tony's cheek and handed him the remote. They spent the rest of the evening watching some show on the Discovery Channel.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

Tony had already made up the invitations for Gil's birthday party and when he had a moment during the day, he went around to each of their friends and hand delivered the little cards, waiting for their response before moving on to the next person. By the time they went home that evening, everyone had accepted the invitation and Tony had begun making out a menu for the party.

"These are our friends, Tony," Gibbs told him after listening to Tony go on and on about what they should make. "They'll appreciate anything we serve so long as it's edible. We could order in pizza and they wouldn't care. There's no reason to make it a huge production."

"Yeah, but LJ, what if they don't react well to the news?" Tony worried.

"It won't matter what we serve then either," Gibbs said. "But they aren't going to react badly. They care about both of us and want us to be happy. Don't worry so much. You'll just make yourself crazy."

"I promise not to go over the top," Tony sighed. "But I did ask Angela to come in an extra day this week to make sure the house is clean. I'll stick to salad and vegetarian lasagna and cake. And a few bottles of wine."

"Sounds simple enough," Gibbs agreed. "You cook, and I'll entertain our son and keep him out of the kitchen while you get everything ready."

Tony gave Gibbs a huge grin. "You said our son. That's the first time you said that."

Gibbs coughed. "Well, he calls me papa—at your encouragement—so I didn't think you'd mind."

"I don't," Tony said. "In fact, I love it. I think it's the best thing I've heard in a long time."

**GDGDGDGDGD**

"I thought you said you weren't going to go overboard," Gibbs said with some amusement Saturday morning. Tony was currently on a step ladder hanging streamers and balloons around the living room. The dining room already filled with both along with a banner and matching paper tablecloth and napkins.

"This isn't overboard," Tony said defensively. "The matching treat bags filled with toys and candies are a teeny bit excessive, maybe, but balloons and streamers are standard fare. Now if I had gotten the piñata or the pin the tail game, that definitely would have been over the top."

Gibbs laughed and handed Tony the tape dispenser that had dropped to the floor. "Glad you limited yourself, though I suspect Abby would have enjoyed both the piñata and the game."

"I was sorely tempted," Tony admitted as he climbed down the ladder. "Abby and I would have had a blast, but I didn't think you or Ducky would really enjoy it. And since Gil's too young to play…"

"Speaking of, Gil is taking his nap," Gibbs said. "Anything I can do to help out?"

Tony grinned. "Nope, the lasagna's in the fridge ready to be put into the oven when the time comes. The salad's made, the cake's in the fridge. I picked it up this morning. The table's set and nothing else can be done until just before the party."

Gibbs smirked. "So we have more than an hour of free time?"

"We do," Tony agreed.

"Then get your ass upstairs DiNozzo and stop wasting time! I want you naked and on the bed in thirty seconds, beginning…Now!"

Tony gave a startled yelp at the pinch to his ass, but wasted no time doing as he was told. He was never one to disobey a direct order from his team leader.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

"Everything looks so cute!" Abby gushed as she helped Tony carry the dishes into the kitchen and put them into the dishwasher. "And Gil looks like he's having a great time."

"He loves being the center of attention," Tony said ruefully.

"Just like his daddy," Gibbs said from the doorway. He was carrying more plates.

"Hey!" Tony protested. He couldn't really find anything to argue against the statement, though. "Okay, so that's true, but you have to admit that he's adorable as he runs from one person to the other to make sure they're paying attention to him."

"He is adorable," Abby said. "He gets that from his daddy, too. Here, I'll take the plates and forks out while you get the cake ready."

"And I'll go wrangle the little monster back into his high chair for the big moment," Gibbs said. He checked quickly to make sure Abby wasn't coming back before leaning in to kiss Tony.

Tony took a deep breath once Gibbs had left the room. They had agreed to wait until after Gil went to bed to tell the others about their relationship and as the time neared, he was getting more and more anxious. He'd thought it was a good idea to tell everyone tonight since they would already be there. Now, though, he wasn't so sure. He was already stressed about the party and adding this on top of everything was making him jittery. He hadn't really enjoyed a moment of the party so far. He tried to calm his nerves. He didn't want to look back on Gil's first birthday and remember being all stressed out. He wanted to have fond memories of this night.

Of course a lot of that depended upon how the others took their news.

Taking another deep breath, Tony put the single candle into the cake and lit it before picking up the cake and carrying it into the dining room. The others were all gathered there, singing to Gil, who was lapping up the attention. Tony smiled at the scene. He joined in for the end of the song even as he set the cake down on the table in front of Gil. They had worked this out ahead of time and Gibbs easily helped Gil lean towards the cake and blow out the candle. Tony saw that Abby was capturing the moment on a digital video camera.

Gil got the first piece of cake and promptly grabbed a handful of cake and icing and shoved the sugary confection into his mouth, smearing blue and white icing all over his mouth and cheeks. Everyone laughed and Tony felt something in his stomach unclench. This was his family. For good or bad, they would support him and Gibbs. He knew that.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

"Did Gil go down okay?" Tony asked as he handed Gibbs a cup of coffee. He was making up a tray for the rest of the group to enjoy in the living room.

"He was still a little wired at first," Gibbs said wryly. "But he settled down during the story and was just about out when I left."

"Good," Tony said quietly.

"Hey," Gibbs said as he wrapped his arms around Tony. "We don't have to do this tonight. We could tell them individually."

Tony shook his head. "And drag this out for days, maybe even weeks? I don't think so."

"Okay, then let's get out there and do this," Gibbs said firmly and gently pushed Tony towards the door. "I'll bring the coffee."

Tony went out into the living room and saw that they had left the love seat open for him and Gibbs. Ducky was in the armchair closest to the fireplace. Abby, Tim and Jimmy were on the sofa all chatting quietly.

"Hey Tony," Abby said as Tony took his seat. "When did you get the new flat screen TV? It's got to be at least sixty inches."

"Sixty three," Tony admitted. "We got it before football season. You should see the Ohio State games on that thing. Amazing."

"I still can't believe you convinced Jethro to get cable," Ducky said.

"Yeah, well…"

"It was better than listening to him whine about missing football or some Magnum PI marathon," Gibbs said as he entered and put the tray onto the coffee table.

"LJ!" Tony scolded. "I thought you liked the games!"

"I like baseball better," Gibbs smirked.

"LJ?" Abby asked, not having missed that little slip on Tony's part. He was usually very careful at work only to call Gibbs by his last name or Boss.

"Um yeah," Tony said, feeling embarrassed now.

"Yes, well, that was something we wanted to talk to all of you about tonight," Gibbs said. His voice was clear and confident, but Tony could tell by the slight tensing of his shoulders that Gibbs was just as nervous as he was. "Tony and I are together. Have been for about a year and a half. This will not change the way we work together. It hasn't up to now. But we wanted our friends to know that he and Gil will not be moving out. They live here now."

"That's so great!" Abby gushed as she threw herself at both Tony and Gibbs trying to hug them both at once. "I knew something was going on and I had hoped, but I'm so glad I was right!"

"Yeah, um, congratulations," Jimmy said meekly.

"I wish you both every happiness," Ducky said and lifted his coffee cup in toast.

Everyone turned then to McGee who was staring down into his coffee thoughtfully.

"McGee?" Tony said. "Tim?"

Tim looked up at them with a small smile. "I'm happy for you both. Really. I was just thinking about how this would affect things if the director found out. Vance doesn't exactly like you Tony."

"We've considered that," Gibbs said. "Obviously we'd prefer that he didn't find out, but if he does, we'll deal with it. We don't want you all to feel like you have to lie to cover for us, but at the same time, we would appreciate it if you didn't say anything at work."

"We'd happily lie if it meant keeping our team together," Abby said adamantly.

"Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that," Tony said. "Thanks you guys. You really don't know how much your support means to us."

"We're more than just colleagues," Ducky said.

"Yeah," Tim agreed. "We're family."

**GDGDGDGDGD**

"You never said why you call Gibbs LJ," Abby said. She had cornered Tony in the kitchen as they cleaned up a little later.

Tony blushed. "Abs…"

"Spill, DiNozzo," Abby ordered in her best imitation of Gibbs.

Tony sighed. "Okay, um, when we first…got together I never knew what to call him. I mean Gibbs was too impersonal, and Boss brought up all kinds of kinky connotations. Only his father calls him Leroy. And…"

"And?" Abby prompted.

Tony chuffed a laugh. "Okay. I tried calling him Jethro for a while, but every time we were… in bed together I'd get the giggles when I'd say his name. I mean really. What kind of name is Jethro? It's really NOT a sexy name. So I tried not saying his name at all. Eventually, I came up with LJ. He let it go, since he was a bit tired of me giggling at him in bed."

Abby, who had started laughing about half way through Tony's explanation, completely lost her composure. "Oh! Oh my god! Oh! Tony that's… that's just…"

"Yeah, yeah," Tony pouted. "Come on, you hyena. Help me pass out the goody bags and get these people out of here."

Abby hugged Tony again. "I love you Anthony DiNozzo."

"Love you too, Abs," Tony said as he squeezed back.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

"That wasn't as bad I thought it would be," Tony admitted in bed later that night.

"You should trust more," Gibbs said. "Trust me, trust our friends, and trust yourself."

Tony nodded and laid his head against Gibbs' bare chest.

"You told Abby about LJ," Gibbs stated.

"Had to," Tony said sleepily.

"I suppose so," Gibbs allowed. "She'd have hounded us both until she learned the truth anyway."

"Yep." Tony said. "I think Gil had a good time."

"I think he had a blast," Gibbs said. "You did good, Daddy."

"Hey, you did pretty good yourself, Papa," Tony teased. He got serious a moment later. "LJ? Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," Gibbs said and he meant it. He would give Tony just about anything in his power to give.

"I know how much Gil and I mean to you," Tony said as he sat up to look Gibbs in the face. "But would you want to make that official?"

Gibbs looked confused. "Official how?"

Tony took a deep breath. "Would you like to be his papa officially? Would you like to adopt Gil as his other parent?"

Gibbs looked intently at Tony. "What's brought this on?"

Tony shrugged. "A few things. Mostly it's because I worry about what would happen to Gil if anything should happen to me. I mean, my father is his closest living relative and I sure as hell don't want him going to him. But also because you're his papa. And you always will be."

Gibbs swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. "Yeah, Tony. Yeah, I'd like that."

"Good," Tony said and lay back down. "Now that that's settled, we should get some sleep. Your son will be up early tomorrow."

"Yeah, he will be," Gibbs agreed breathlessly. He lay staring up at the ceiling long after Tony fell asleep.

**The End**

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this little piece. I'm already formulating the next installment in this arc. Just a hint, Ziva returns and not everyone is happy about it. Jules


End file.
